Coupling



Feb. 5, 1946. L EASTMAN 2,394,236

COUPL ING Filed NOV. l5, 1943 JNVENTOR. /van L. Easlman W10/@ww A TTORNE Y.

. Patented Feb.l 5, 1946 cover-.ING

Ivan L. Eastman, Sylvania, Ohio, assignor to The De Vilbiss Company, Toledo, Ohio, a corpora.-

tion of Ohio Application November 3 claims. (chess-16s) This invention relates to a coupling yfor,...use primarily-in joining together two sections of hose or a tool and a. hose.

An object of the invention is to provide a. cou-' pling which may be quickly engaged or disen-4 gaged.

15, 1943, serial No; 510.406

the extension 8 where it is held in assembled relation by punch indentations 24 yextending into the channel 25 circumscribing extension 8. This Another object is to providea coupling lwillichv has a leak-proof connection when engaged and includes a valve which eil'ectively prevents loss ofl iluid through the supply member Aoi.' the coupling when disengaged.

A further. object of the invention is to provide a coupling in which the/coupling elements are A protected i'rominjury and dirt by being located on the interior of the coupling.

The invention possesses other objects which will be 'apparent through a reading of the following description of the preferred embodiment il- Figure i `is a side elevatlonaiview of the coupling with the members in separated position;

.Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the two members illustrated in Figure l;

channel is sunclenuy wider than the punch indentations to permit the sleeve some reciprocable movement relative to the extension 8. The exterior openings 26 oi' the ports Il are large a enough to receive balls I8 while the inner openings 2l are slightly smaller than the diameter of the f balls, permitting them tde' extend partly through and into the groove I when the coupling is in attached position, butl preventing the balls Z- from dropping through the holes when the cou' plng members jare disconnected.

' lustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

. Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the two. Y

members in partially coupled relation;

Figure! is a similar view showing the parts l 'fully coupled; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view oi the l valve forming a part oi the coupling.

With reference to the drawing, the coupling therein depicted comprises amale piece l and a female assembly 2. The former has a nipple section 3 with annular groove d for reception of locking or retaining members within the assembly 2. On the other end ofthe male piece is n a threaded portion 5 for connecting it to a tubing or hose. The heiagon surface 8 is provided for the use of a wrench in making such a connection. 'I'he female assembly has a main body member I to which is fastened a tubular extension 8.

The sleeve 23 has an inwardly 23 which may be movedy against the protruding end 29 of the ball cage I5. When the coupling is in either completely attached or entirely disengaged position, the ball cage I5 is thrust slightly outwardly from the end oi the assembly by the spring I3 with the balls against the outer and narrower end oiv the tapered sectionv 38 oithe extension 8.

When it is desired to fasten the parts of the coupling together, the nipple`3- of the male piece l is inserted into-assembly 2. The end of the nipple rst strikes the portions of the balls I8,

vextending inwardly through the walls of the cage l5, thereby moving the .cage against spring I3 and the balls away from the narrower portion oi the tapered section l of theA extension'8. As

shown in Figure 3 the balls will .move back,

through the ports I1 as soon as there is suilicient room for them on the other side of the cage. This permits the nipple 3 to mo've past the ports `I1 A into opening contact with the valve I8. 4The The latter has a. shoulder 9 between which and the end I0 of the body l are held valve seat ll vand washer l2. A spring I3 is compressedbe tween the washer I2 and a, flange Id ,on ball cage I5. .v Locking balls I8 are located in four ports II equidistantly spaced around the cage.

The valve I8 is normally held against valve sea I2 by spring I9. The valve has a flat tail section 20 which has guiding contact with the passage 2| in the body 1. On the other side of the valve is a short tongue 22 which` is engaged to move the valve from its seat by the end of nipple 3`of the male piece I as the coupling is assembled into attached position. v

The releasing sleeve 23 is loosely mounted upon 88 I thrust of spring I 3 against cage l5 still presses the vba e ange'll o! the section of thertapered surface 38 whichtends to push them through the ports. Accordingly the balls enter the annular groove d as soon vvas it arrives beneath the ports. At the sam time the end of nipple 3 meets valve seat I2 and establishe's a seal between the two parts of the colle' pling. The dropping of the balls into groovel is accomplished by a movement of thecage lli outwardly under the propulsion of the spring 22 and the end 29 of the cage I 5 will again'extend beyond the end oi' the extension 8. The couplingr il is now locked in closed Figure 4. l.

With the locking balls acting like ball bear'- ings and the ball cage rotatable, one part o i'the coupling maybe freely turned while the-other remains stationary. This is a decided advantage position as shown in depending ilange' against the -wider when the coupling is used between a hose and a hand tool as there is considerably less work in manipulating such a tool if the hose does not turn with itfvilso this arrangement extends the life of the hose,as the eliminated tends to weaken the individual fabric strands and their adhesion to the adjoining rubber compound.

Pulling on the outer ends of the coupling does not open the connection as the balls resist any uncoupling movement by being wedged between the tapered section 30 and the inner shoulder of groove l. This lock is broken by a backward Dull on releasing sleeve 23 while simultaneously bringing the two parts of the coupling a slight amount closer together. This releases the balls from their wedged position and through movement with the cage forces them out of the groove. It may be seen therefore that the hand holding the female assembly may pull back the releasing sleeve and as a continuation of the same movement pull the assembly away from the male connection. The uncoupling action is thereby a simple and rapid operation.

While one form only of my shown and described in detail, it will be understood that the other embodiments are possible andvarious changes may be made in the arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as donned in the claims appended hereto.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A coupling comprising a male member, a connecting nipple portion thereon with a peripheral groove, a female member, a plurality of balls within the female member engaging and having rolling contact with said groove, an inner cage rotatable and axially reciprocable in respect to the female member in which the balls are loosely mounted, an end of the cage extending exteriorly of the female member, a sleeve rotatably and slidably mounted on the exterior of the female member, and a flange on the sleeve projecting radially inwardly over the end of the female member'in contacting relation with the exteriorly extending end of the cage, whereby the balls may be moved out of the groove by manually moving twisting of the hose that is 5 assenso member and a female assembly, a cylindrical bore within the assembly terminating at its innerendv with a shoulder and with a narrowing taper atl itsouter end, a nipple on the male member for in of the tubular cage, a spring within the bore,

compressed between'the shoulder at the inner'end of the bore and the` flange on the inner end of the cage, the thrust of the spring forcing the invention has been cage outwardly and impelling the balls carriedA .by the cage against the narrowing taper and thus radially inwardly into the groove to lock the male. member and female assembly in coupled relation, a sleeve rotatably and slidably mounted on.

the exterior of the female member, and a ange on the sleeve projecting radially inwardly over the end of the female member in contacting relation with the outer end of the cage, whereby the locking balls may be forced out of the groove -by manually moving the sleeve against the outer end of the cage and thus forcing the cage in- 3. A coupling comprising a male member, a connecting nipple portion thereon with a peripheral groove, a female member, a cylindrical bore within the female member terminating at its outer end with a narrowing taper, said taper being in'surrounding relation to the peripheral groove on the male member nipple, a tubular cage rotatably and reciprocably supported within the female member and telescoped between it and the male nipple; a plurality of bearing and locking balls loosely and circumferentially carried by the tubular cage, a spring mounted within the bore and thrust against the o inner end of the cage to urge the cage outwardly the sleeve against the extending end of the cage and thus forcing the cage inwardly.

2. In a coupling of the type described a m ale and to hold the balls between the groove in the nipple and the narrowing tapered end of the cylindrical bore, whereby vthe balls utilize opposing surfaces oi' the groove and the taper to hold the two members of the coupling axially together and also utilize such surfaces as a bearing runway when the two members are relatively rotated and the balls roll between them.

' IVAN L. EASTMAN. 

